SHIFT
by Dividing Line
Summary: "Hand-to-paw, face to muzzle, skin to fur. She was pinned in place by a beast of the like she'd never seen, never dreamed of outside of fairytales. Then it's great jaw opened, and all became darkness." Full summary inside. Supernatural fic. Ichiruki, minor RenRuki initially, other pairings included.
1. Chapter 1

_**SHIFT**_

_**Summary:**_

**"Hand-to-paw, face to muzzle, skin to fur. She was pinned in place by a beast of the like she'd never seen, never dreamed of outside of fairytales. Then it's great jaw opened, and all became darkness."**

**_One dark night she'd never forget. What had begun as fun out in the woods turned into an evening with a monster. A monster that had, in the haze of bloodlust, bestowed it's legacy upon her; the mark of the Were._**

**_But allies are soon found in unexpected places- and just in time, for a war is brewing, and unknown to Rukia, she is right in the thick of it._**

* * *

_Was this how it felt to die?_

_Lying alone, in the dark, with nobody to hear your cries? Your beg for mercy? Your pleas for it to just be over- for the cool darkness to creep in and consume you, to bless you with numbness._

_Rukia didn't know. Between the agony of the beast that had clamped it's thick jaw onto her shoulder, salivating at the taste of her fresh blood spilling between it's nightmare teeth and thick, rancid tongue, she could hardly think of her own name. _

_Slowly, the light of the full moon shining above seemed to fade. The great huge, ruby eyes of the beast that minutes ago had been staring into hers, dimmed. It's growls of pleasure and the sound of her own bones cracking and snapping began to trickle into a mere whisper._

_Her nightmare was drawing to a close, and she was going with it. _

_With one last, fighting choke of breath, she gratefully tumbled into the abyss._

* * *

They had been walking from the car, not quite hand in hand. He'd tried to grab onto her tiny palm a few times- she'd simply put it in her pocket, and he'd given up.

Rukia didn't do hand holding.

And they'd wandered into the thickness of the trees. Her deep violet eyes followed his confident steps on the path. They'd done this a million times. A few minutes of passion with no-one but the trees as their silent witness. For her it was a release of some animal tension. She didn't have time for a boyfriend, and Renji knew that. For him… She had a feeling it was more. He certainly tried to make it more, with things like the hand-holding attempts, and on occasion he tried to kiss her or cuddle her afterwards as they lay on the grass getting their breath back. Each attempt was batted away by the small woman ruthlessly. He knew where he stood, but it didn't stop him trying.

It was about ten minutes after they had found their usual clearing, between a few tightly packed oak trees and tall bushes, that they heard the first sound of try twigs snapping underfoot.

"Renji, what was that?" Rukia whispered furiously, stopping her movements, and beginning to unwrap her legs from his waist, fidgeting against the tree she was resting against.

Renji made an incoherent noise into her throat in response, and grabbed onto her falling legs, hiking her back up. The small woman slapped at his gripping fingers and began to push against his shoulders, making him stop his ministrations.

"I'm serious Renji, what if someone's there? They could be watching us." She whispered. Renji shook his long red hair, which had long been pulled out of it's ponytail, and smiled.

"Don't be so silly babe. Besides, if there is anyone watching," He paused with a devilish smile before thrusting his hips again, "We'll give 'em a show, eh?" Rukia made a small noise of helpless agreement, as just as they were about to re-commence their passion, a low, throaty growl echoed through the clearing.

The small woman squeaked and begun to squirm away from her lover, eyes wide in fright. "Oh my God Renji there is definitely something there." Renji nodded his head, blatantly equally freaked out. The pair disentangled themselves from each other, and began righting their rumpled clothing.

The tall man murmured softly to Rukia, pulling up his zipper, "We should get moving. We're not far from the car, we can make it back in-"

The growl echoed out again, more savage than before, breaking Renji off.

"Oh!" Rukia squeaked, her eyes widening further. "Come on Renji, let's get moving, whatever it is we've pissed it off!" She allowed, in her fear, for Renji to grab her hand as he begun to lead her, as quickly as he could, towards the path. Soon the pair were running, dry underbrush and twigs cracking and making a racket in their wake, the illumination from the moon their only guiding light.

A howl rang out behind them, and Rukia froze. Renji span around and grabbed on her hand, tugging on it. Loud, heavy thuds of their follower echoed around them, it's heavy panting and growling thick in the air all around them. It didn't seem to come from any one direction, but all of them- they were slowly being rounded up, Rukia realised, her heart in her throat.

"Come on Rukia," Renji gasped, pulling at her arm desperately, "We're nearly there. Come on, keep going!" Rukia let out a whimper, and gestured behind him, her body beginning to tremble. Renji let out a low moan of fear.

"It's there." The tiny woman uttered, her shaking finally subsiding as she accepted their fate. Renji slowly turned on his heel, and came face to face with the beast. It was like nothing he'd ever seen before.

It must have stood at least 5 feet tall, on four thick, muscled legs. Fur coated it's huge form, as black as the night itself, right down to great huge paws the span of Renji's head, with menacing claws that were easily the length of a man's forearm and curled into deadly spikes. A large, furred tail swished between it's back legs. Overall the beast gave an aura of smugness. Afterall, it had it's prey right where it wanted it and now the effort would pay off. The huge muzzle opened to bear the great yellowed teeth, and saliva drooled out between them as the beast begun to inch forwards.

Rukia and Renji shifted back, no longer making a sound. What good would yelling for help do them now, Rukia panicked, and though she had been avoiding it, she looked into the beast's face. It's great garnet eyes stared back at her, and there was a fierce, animal intelligence in them. She swallowed.

"Renji," She whispered, "You're faster than I am. When I say so, run for your life." Her voice broke on the last word.

"Rukia don't be ridiculous, I can't leave you here. You run-"

"No," she interrupted him, "It'll catch me in moments. You have a better chance of escaping. Go get help, I'll find somewhere to hide. Get up a tree maybe. Just go, okay?" Renji opened her mouth and she silenced him with a fierce look. "I'll be fine. When I say so, run." Her companion swallowed and nodded, determined. "Okay." He whispered back.

Suddenly, Rukia made a dart off the path, and let out a piercing high-pitched screech like Renji had never heard before. In moments, the beast had ignored the taller man and bounded off after his moving prey, thrilled by the prospect of a real hunt.

"RUN!" Rukia screamed out from the distance over the beast's howls, and Renji did exactly that, hurtling through the brush towards his car and safety.

Rukia was already panting and the beast was hot on her heels. She had crawled under rocks and leapt over bushes, trying to make the path as difficult as possible for the beast to follow and give Renji more time to escape- it was fruitless, she knew, but at least she would go down trying her best rather than shivering and shaking on the path. Maybe, through her death, Renji would escape.

She prayed to whatever God was listening that he did.

Hurling her small form over another load of bushes, Rukia let out a cry as her foot caught on a stray root and she felt herself go tumbling down into a nearby ditch. The forest had gone silent again, and for a fearful moment, she wondered if the beast had ignored her in favour of the larger feast that Renji would provide.

"Falling down like in a frickin' horror movie. Stupid Rukia, stupid." She hissed at herself, attempting to get up from the curve she had fallen into.

Then bright, monstrous eyes met hers. The beast was right there, silent, waiting. Before, she realised, it had intended to frighten them by making so much noise. It could have attacked them as they were wrapped up in each other, blissfully unaware, but instead it had inspired them to run, so it could chase them…So it could enjoy the hunt. It shifted forwards, and pressed it's nose to her skin, inhaling deeply like a man smelling the aroma of a fine wine. With a short nudge, it had her pushed onto her back, paralyzed amongst the leaves and dirt. She raised a hand out of fear, and it pinned it with one huge paw, lowering it's weight over hers as it stared into her face. Hand-to-paw, face to muzzle, skin to fur. She was pinned in place by a beast of the like she'd never seen, never dreamed of outside of fairytales.

Then it's great jaw opened, and all became darkness.

She drifted. Dreamed. She saw Renji's face, contorted in fear as he'd too realised they were doomed. Imagined how Byakuya would react when she never came home. Would he call the police, fearing for his little sister? OR would he wait a few days, believing her to be staying with someone. Her phone was in Renji's car- if he never made it back, would it sit there, ringing for hours on end before someone discovered it in the morning when they went to open up the bar?

Pain lanced through her and she came almost to the surface of reality. It was almost too much to bear, like fire dancing all over her body, stabbing, slicing, cutting wherever it touched.

Was this how it felt to die?

Lying alone, in the dark, with nobody to hear your cries? Your beg for mercy? Your pleas for it to just be over- for the cool darkness to creep in and consume you, to bless you with numbness.

Rukia didn't know. Between the agony of the beast that had clamped it's thick jaw onto her shoulder, salivating at the taste of her fresh blood spilling between it's nightmare teeth and thick, rancid tongue, she could hardly think of her own name.

Slowly, the light of the full moon shining above seemed to fade. The great huge, ruby eyes of the beast that minutes ago had been staring into hers, dimmed. It's growls of pleasure and the sound of her own bones cracking and snapping began to trickle into a mere whisper.

Her nightmare was drawing to a close, and she was going with it.

With one last, fighting choke of breath, she gratefully tumbled into the abyss.

**A/N: I guess you could call this my come-back to writing. I missed it, and I've never written a supernatural story before, so I figured I'd give it a shot! **

**This isn't going to be a Ren-Ruki fic, by the way, so don't be put off by this, Ichi-Ruki fans! It'll all come into play.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**-DL**


	2. Chapter 2

Rukia awoke with a start.

Her head was a mass of confusion; filled with muted pain and hazy, almost feverish dreams- dreams of running, of the feeling of damp leaves between her fingers and the unmistakable copper scent of blood. Slowly, with screaming protest from every one of her limbs, she sat up and slowly began t process her surroundings.

She was on something wet, almost slimy, and her skin was covered in something weirdly crunchy. Had she been feverish after all? Disgusted with the thought of sweaty bedsheets, she opened her eyes.

Only she wasn't on her bedsheets. She wasn't even in her apartment, let alone her bed.

She was on a muddied pile of sodden leaves and her bare skin was crisp with mud. That's right; she was completely and utterly _naked. _And lying in the woods to boot. Forget having a phone to ring for help, she didn't even have a scrap of fabric covering her modestly. Despite being sompletely alone, Rukia's pale cheeks flushed red and burned at the thought of her indecency.

Suddenly, a voice broke through her silent embarrassment, "I think she's awake. Grab me the clothes and the wet-wipes, then wait over there. No peeking either, she's probably freaked out enough without your perversion adding to it all." The slosh of footsteps on soggy undergrowth sounded closer, and Rukia did her best to clutch at whatever dignity she had left. A young woman dressed surprisingly light for the cold season approached her slowly, almost cautiously, with a warm smile. She had a strikingly beautiful but kind face, and when she spoke, Rukia recognised her voice from before.

"Hi there," The strange woman began softly, "Stay calm, okay? I mean you no harm. I know you're probably confused and frightened right now," She said, her pretty yellow eyes roving over Rukia's bare form. "And probably quite embarrassed. But I've got some clean clothes here for you, and you can wipe away the mud with these." She placed the wet-wipes and neatly folded pile of fabric close to Rukia, before politely turning and walking a few paces away.

Five minutes later, with the worst of the grime gone from her peachy skin, and the surprisingly soft woollen jumper and jeans hanging loosely from her petite form, Rukia felt calm enough to speak to this mysterious woman who had somehow known where she was.

"Thank you," She began, and the woman turned around to face her with a wide grin, quit unlike her previous cautious smile.

"It's no problem chic! Us lot have to stick together after all!" She paused, pulling on her purple ponytail. Looking thoughtful, she asked "So, to breach the difficult subject, do you know what 'us lot' are?" Rukia shook her head nervously. "Well, it's gunna be a rather difficult story to tell here. My name is Yoruichi, by the way, and the man hiding in the bushes over there is Kisuke." She swivelled on her heel and shouted towards the tall hedge "You can come out now Kisuke. And if I find out later you peeked, you're in hella trouble."

A sheepish looking man tripped out of the bushes, rubbing the back of his head with a grin. He had the weirdest dress sense Rukia had ever seen; a bizzare green and white striped hat, and a long, dark green coat, with- _were those sandals? In November?_ Though, she reasoned, the Yoruichi woman wasn't dressed much better, in a tight black shorts and top combo with black ankle boots.

"Ah, I didn't see a thing, don't you worry!" Kisuke eyed Rukia evenly, with a suddenly serious gaze. "And what's your name, pup?" Yoruichi gave him a hard look at the word 'pup' and he winced.

"Rukia. Rukia Kuchiki." Unbeknownst to Rukia, the pair exchanged glances at the mention of her surname.

Kisuke nodded and smiled again, if it seemed a little forced this time. "I see. No doubt you have lots of questions to ask, like how we knew you were here, blah, and so if you'd like to come with us, we can talk in a nicer venue," He eyed her bare feet. "And we can get you some shoes." Rukia blushed.

Could she really follow a pair of total strangers? What if they were psychopaths, and were going to kill her? Though, she reasoned, they had their chance in this secluded forest already. Plus, why go to the trouble of bringing her clothes; and how did they even know she would be here, without any clothes? This appeased her logical mind, though deep down, she hadn't even had to think about it. On another level, an unconscious level, she felt strangely safe with these people. Almost like they were kin- like she knew them already, somehow. Cracking a small, weary smile, she nodded, and the trio began to walk.

Eventually, Rukia had stumbled through the foliage with the help of Yoruichi and Kisuke, and they had eased her into a new-looking Jeep that sat, engine growling quietly, on the side of the road that led them outside of town. The large seats were suprisingly comfortable, and the 4X4 truck had a soft, woodsy smell about it that she found soothing. Strapping her seatbelt across her hips, Rukia finally felt calm for the first time that morning. As soon as Kisuke was in the drivers seat, the Jeep took off, it's large tires cruising easily over the cracked and pot-hole ridden road.

"So," Yoruichi began, "You're a Kuchiki huh? As in, Byakuya Kuchiki, head of Kuchiki and Son Solicitors?" Rukia nodded in reply.

"You've heard of my brother then?" She asked softly, her interest peaked. Yoruichi looked at Kisuke with a strange glint in her eye.

"Oh yes. We've both known your brother very well for many, many years indeed. Long before he married your sister, even."

Rukia's eyebrows ventured even further up her forehead. "You know about Hisana? But-"

Yoruichi laughed, and it was a loud, throaty purr. Kisuke intercepted over the sound, "We've even met you before, when you were tiny! However, I never imagined we'd meet gain under such... circumstances." He eyed Rukia's borrowed clothing and still slightly muddied skin. "Yes," Kisuke mused "Never in my life did I think this would happen..."

Yoruichi looked at him with a sharp expression that was obviously a warning, and the young woman in the back of the Jeep was even more confused. She couldn't recall these people from any time of her life. Ever.

"Are you business associates of my brother then?"She asked, it being the only reasonable explanation. Yellow eyes lit with mirth.

"Oh yes, I guess you could say we are." The buxom older woman replied. "Never got along too well though. Your brother can be so stubborn and he holds one hell of a grudge." Rukia nodded in agreement.

"Oh yes. Nobody knows anger until they meet my brother." She glanced out of the window, not recognising the still-woodsy landscape, and realised how fast the Jeep was travelling. "Um, speaking of, where are we going? I didn't return home last night, and he's bound to be worried."

"We need to get you fixed up first." Kisuke said before Yoruichi could reply. "You're scratched, bloodied and confused. You can't go home in a state like that."

Rukia sighed quietly. She knew she should feel afraid. Nothing in this situation was adding up, and Kisuke and Yoruichi were definitely hiding something. Any normal person would be petrified by now, but she just couldn't shake that feeling of warmth and safety she felt with them. It was one of the weirdest sensations she'd ever felt.

Yoruichi added, "You're no doubt wanting answers about what happened last night, no?" The black-haired woman nodded her head slowly.

"Yes, you're both right." Rukia agreed. "But couldn't you just have told me in the woods and given me a lift home? Surely that would be easier."

The older pair exchanged a glance. Yoruichi suddenly looked more somber. "I'm afraid, Rukia, that it's not really something you can explain. It's something you have to... show. It's not as simple as I wish it could be."

She paused, as if considering continuing. Yellow eyes met violet, and Yoruichi added softly. "Your life is changing as we speak. What happened last night is something you won't be able to remember for quite some time, but when you do, it will change everything you ever thought you knew, Rukia Kuchiki."

"Forever."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_**I must admit, I'm really looking forwards to writing the next chapter.**_

_**Thank you for reading!**_


	3. Chapter 3

It was probably half an hour or so after they had began their journey that Kisuke ground the Jeep to a hault infront of what appeared to be a small shop.

"Pit-stop?" Rukia asked from the backseat, breaking the thoughtful silence that had filled the truck after Yoruichi's strange warning. Kisuke unbuckled his seat belt and the purple haired woman in the front passenger seat followed suit.

"Nope!" He replied cheerily, tipping his weird, ugly hat towards Rukia in the back seat, "We're here! This is home sweet home, Miss Kuchiki."

Rukia slowly undid her belt, eyeing the place up from outside. It didn't look to be anything spectacular. Heck, it looked like a small store, like the kind you find on the corner of suburban streets, that sell candy and tobacco and fizzy drinks. Yoruichi noticed her bemused expression and grinned. There was something feral about her smile, Rukia noted. Maybe because her teeth were so white and... pointy?

"It looks... cosy." The black haired woman said uncertainly, and Yoruichi broke out into her purring laugh as she hopped out of the truck with enviable grace. Ther door slammed closed with a force that made the huge vehicle sway, before the feline woman seemingly magically appeared at Rukia's window.

"Oh, Rukia, you should see your face. Come now, I promise, it's much more impressive inside."

More than slightly confused, Rukia opened her door and slowly slid from the Jeep, allowing herself a brief moment to stretch her legs after the long journey. Granted, it hadn't taken too long; but that was because Kisuke apparently drove like a madman. She hadn't dared look at the speedometer once.

Rukia followed the unusual pair inside the house, all the while wondering when on earth she was going to get home.

**_(LINE BREAK)**

Elsewhere, another Kuchiki was also confused. Infront of him, on the floor of his personal office, sat a hyperventilating Renji. His clothes were muddied and crumpled, and his hands were covered in scrapes, like he'd fallen over several times. The man stank of stale sweat and vomit.

"Abarai," Byakuya asked the distraught redhead infront of him, "Where is my sister?" Renji's gasping sobs continued, and he looked up at the stoic older man weakly.

"She- she, oh God, Mr. Kuchiki, she-" He broke off into another round of guttural sobs. By this point, Byakuya was losing his paitence. He knew the pair had gone out the day prior- he knew all about Rukia and Renji's little... trysts, and always had. He was not a stupid man, by any means, and though he was distant because of his work, he was fiercely protective of his younger sister.

Byakuya may have accepted their illicit relationship, despite Renji being one of his employees, but now he was beginning to get angry.

"Renji Abarai, I will ask you one last time, you blithering fool." Reining in his anger, he spoke with slow deliberation. "Where is Rukia."

Renji choked.

"Woods." The redhead rasped. "We went for a..." He faltered under Byakuya's cold stare. "Walk."

"Yes. Continue."

"We heard... growling." Renji swallowed audibly. "And decided to leave. But it... followed us." Byakuya's stare went from cold to positively arctic. Renji shifted back in fear at the darkness in his employer's eyes. He had never seen such an expression on the man's face. He was always so calm, collected and cool.

But now he looked positively dangerous.

In a voice barely over a whisper, Byrakuya rasped, "Continue."

"We ran, and it chased us..." He faltered again, but Byakuya's black gaze made him stutter on. "It was some sort of monster. It was nearly as tall as me, on four legs! And it stank of blood and... death."

Renji let out an agonised moan.

"And Rukia?" The black-haired man prompted in his rasping voice.

"She never got back to the car." Renji's voice was barely a hoarse whisper. At those words, Byakuya's eyes seemed to become darker than the space between the stars.

"You mean to say, Abarai, that a beat-like creature in the woods last night attacked my sister."

Renji shut his eyes in agonised resignation. "Yes."

He dropped his head to restart his sobbing on the mahogony flooring.

"Byakuya," He blubbered, "I-..."

But as he looked up, Byakuya was long gone, and the door was slowly swinging closed infront of the tearful redhead on the floor.

**_(LINE BREAK)**

Yoruichi had been correct. The sweet little candy store was indeed, much more impressive inside.

Or rather, should she say, downstairs.

The strange pair had walked Rukia inside, breezing through the shelves of candy and magazines that they were greeted with inside the double doors, and continued through to a door behind the till. There were small quarters there; a small kitchen that appeared to be mostly used by staff for tea, a tiny bathroom and a small, comfortable lounge. Then, kisuke pressed his hand firmly to the wall besides the fridge in the kitchen and said, apparently to the fridge, "Kisuke, Yoruichi and Rukia Kuchiki."

Rukia stood there in bewilderment as the seconds ticked by and nothing happened. The blonde man was still staring hard at the logo on the fridge door with his hand pressed to the wall. Just as she was about to ask the purple haired woman infront of her what on earth was going on, the fridge seemed to emit a strange glow.

"Welcome Kisuke, Yoruichi and guest Rukia Kuchiki." and the fridge seemed to shimmer, before vanishing completely to reveal a doorway with a long stairwell beyond it.

"What the flying-"

"Shh Rukia. All will be explained later." Yoruichi butted in with a wink, leaving Rukia to gape at the door where the fridge had been. By the time she had wrapped her head around the space where the fridge had been (waving her hand several times through said space to confirm the fridge was indeed, gone) Kisuke and Yoruichi had long disappered down the stairs. "Hey, wait up!" She yelped, hurtling herself into the doorway. As soon as her second foot hit the wooden boards of the stairs, the "entryway" resealed itself to the world, with Rukia having no doubt that the fridge had magically reappeared. Just thinking about it made her head hurt.

When she hit the final stair of the excessively (in her opinion) large staircase, the mysterious pair that had brought her here were nowhere to be seen. Not that it mattered, as the young woman now had plenty more questions in her head.

For one being how on earth had they managed to fit a rather grand looking hallway of this size underground?

And prehaps more importantly, how on earth did it have windows, clearly showing what was going on outside- she could see the Jeep in the window closest to her, sitting in the carpark for the shop. A bird fluttered down to perch itself on one of the wing mirrors and Rukia rubbed her eyes ferociously until they felt raw, but to no change. The view remained the same.

Stupid Hat, without Yoruichi, reappeared from a door on the left and beckoned her inside."Come now Miss Rukia," He said cheerfully, "It's time to meet your destiny."

WIth little else to do, Rukia followed helplessly like a lamb to the slaughter.

Inside was an incredibly large room (You could probably fit her whole flat inside it, she mused, and it was not a small place). though, oddly enough, it was decorated with huge slabs of mossy stone and- were those seriuously real trees? Huge great towering conifers, that by all means should have reached the shop above them but somehow didn't. The sky seemed endless, just as it would do outside. Rukia only felt more confused.

"What on earth is this place?" She gasped, clutching at the sides of her head and gripping her hair tightly. "This is insane! I must've hit my head or something, this can't even be real!"

"You're about to learn that seeing really is believing Rukia. Try and relax." Kisuke said from behind her. "Yoruichi dear, would you start please?" Rukia felt Kisuke's arm circle her shoulders and hold her firmly. With a small test wiggle, she found his grip to be incredibly strong, like stone. Fear gnawed in the belly of her stomach suddenly. What was going on.

Yoruichi walked into the clearing, barely dressed. Rukia shut her eyes instinctively as always when faced with a woman in her underwear.

"P-put some clothes on!" She yelped. Yoruichi just laughed.

"Rukia, I'd ruin them. Besides, soon you'll be just as casual as I. Open your eyes." Rukia opened them obediently, and her violet gaze met Yoruichi's golden one.

"Don't look away."

"I... I won't."

Yoruichi shut her eyes and seemed to go completely still, her face serene. Then suddenly she crumpled in pain.

Rukia could hear her teeth grinding, and the tall woman's eyes snapped open. But instead of their previously friendly gold, they were a harsh yellow. Suddenly, her shoulders seemed to dislocate themselves and pop out of place, shortly followed by her hips. Yoruichi crumpled to the soft lichen covered floor, and seemed to convulse.

"What are you doing Kisuke!?" Rukia shrieked, struggling against her imprisoner. "She needs help, why aren't you doing anything?"

"Wait." He replied, calm as ever. "And watch."

When rukia re-fixed her gaze upon Yoruichi, she gasped.

Thick black fur was bursting forth all over the soft-skinned woman on all fours on the floor. Her joins had all re-aligned into places suitable for a four-legged animal, and her fingers were slowly webbing together to become great black paws, with her nails lengthening into claws.

Within half a minute, the creature moved from it's pain-wracked heap on the floor and stood. It looked at Rukia with a fierce intelligence in it's eyes, and nodded it's great head to Kisuke. He slipped his arm from Rukia's shoulders and stepped forewards.

He smiled and walked to the beast that stood where Yoruichi once had.

"Hello my dearest." He said softly. Yoruichi, now as a 5'ft tall panther, leaned forewards and gently butted her head against his stomach.

Rukia stumbled backwards, eyes wide.

"Yoruichi?!" She yelped, looking at the huge black beast infront of her. The panther inclined it's head towards Rukia and it's ears twitched. Rukia could have sworn she saw it smile.

"What the hell?" She squeaked. "Y-you're a massive cat?!" She looked at Kisuke. "Are you a cat man too?!" The man in question began to laugh heartily, and Yoruichi purred along with him. "This isn't funny Kisuke! Is everyone here a massive cat or what?"

"No, no, Rukia. We are not all 'massive cats' as you call us. Yoruichi, for one, is what is called a Were. I myself am something different."

"You mean like a Werewolf? She doesn't look much like a wolf..." The black haired woman said in confusion. Kisuke smiled at her kindly.

"Yes. But there are more than just Werewolves. Yoruichi for one, is a Werepanther. However, Werewolves are the most common."

Rukia suddenly felt her stomach drop as she realised. "So... What has this got to do with what happened to me last night?" Her voice lowered to a whisper.

"I think you already know Rukia."

"Y-yes." She swallowed audibly, looking away from Kisuke's kind face to Yoruichi's great cat one. "I'm one now right?" Kisuke smiled grimly.

"Indeed you are." He said, beginning to walk towards her, with Yoruichi in tow.

"Then what are you?" She inquired shakily to the man getting closer.

"Oh, I'm something you've definitely heard of Rukia. I'm a wizard."

And Rukia, after a long night and incredibly strange day, finally fainted.

**Enjoyed writing this one, and I'll be grateful for any feedback on what you think. Sorry for any spelling errors etc. I was in something of a hurry to get this one out. Thanks again for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

Rukia woke up gagging on the pungent scent of smelling salts.

"Gah! Didn't they abandon that stuff in the middle ages?!" She gasped, sitting bolt up right and choking. Kisuke smiled cheerfully.

"Probably, but I didn't!" Rukia rolled her eyes as her spluttering began to cease. "I noticed." Yoruichi, who thankfully appeared to have put some clothes back on, was hovering at the back of the room by the door, in Rukia's line of sight.

"I told you not to use them Kisuke. She just got a little freaked." She rolled her pretty cat-like eyes, which Rukia now noted was incredibly appropriate even if the thought made her cringe.

"So," She began, proud of her voice for not trembling. "You're a giant cat?" Yoruichi responded with another eye-roll.

"First up, let's take you down to the dining room and get you fed. We'll talk about who-is-what when you've got some colour back in your cheeks." She smiled and vanished out of the door. Kisuke stood up and offered a hand to Rukia, which she gratefully took to pull herself to her feet. The petite girl patted down her rumpled hair.

"Don't worry about Yoruichi, Miss Rukia. She just wants to avoid frightening you again. She doesn't think any less of you."

Rukia looked up into his wise, but stll young looking face. "I know." She said, looking confused. "I'm not sure how, but I felt it... Her anxiousness." Kisuke's lips quirked up in a smile and he tipped his hat to her.

"All will be explained, dear girl. Lets get to the kitchen, there is much to discuss. This is just the tip of the iceberg, after all."

Rukia followed his confident stride out of the strange woodland room, taking one last awed look behind her before gently closing the door.

**(LINE BREAK)**

"You knew this could happen, Byakuya."

The elder Kuchiki stretched his back even straighter at the words, his eyes narrowing a fraction of a millimetre. Not that such a movement would be missed by anyone in the room. His eyes cast around the rows of mahogany seats, staggered upwards throughout the room. A pale glow emmated from the chandeleir hovering from the ceiling, it's many tiny bulbs glitting against the crystals hanging below. Just enough light for it's twelve occupants to see in comfort.

"The monitoring system in place should have been enough to allow for a warning. However, it was not. Why has it failed to be increased as a result?"

"The death of one human-"

"-Is still not acceptable." Byakuya's face remained calm. "However, you are probably aware that it was not only my sister who has been murdered. On the previous full moon, twenty-eight humans were slaughtered. The most recent moon, in which my sister died, fourty-seven were reported. A total of seventy-five humans, thirty-one of which were children." Byakuya took a brief moment to let it sink in. "As you can see, the situation is escalating. There could be a greater number dead by the next moon, and soon the human media will pick up on the trend. It cannot be hidden forever."

There was a collective murmur around the room. A few low hisses could he heard.

"You did not care until your sister became one of them." A speaker from the far corner corner intoned. His voice was raspy and slithered like a snake throughout the room. Byakuya felt the vile flavour of distate rise in his throat.

"I was not aware the situation was so poor until I looked into it." He replied stoically.

"Enough." A figure stood from the front bench of the room, and began to walk towards where the black-haired man stood at the very front, on a small speaker's booth. He brushed his long braided beard aside, and his white hair flowed behind him.

"Elder Yammamoto, sir." Byakuya addressed him formally.

"Kuchiki. What exactly, aside from the death of your sister, did you bring the Clans here to dicuss?"

Byakuya closed his eyes and paused for a second, as if re-thinking his idea. He knew already what the result would be if he proposed his original intention."The situation has gotten out of control. The previous contract was that no race, including Were, Vampires, Fae or otherwise were to bring awareness of the supernatural to humans, in order to avoid a repeat of the centuries of persecution we faced. If the terms were breached, it would result in-"

"War." Yammamoto finished. A few faces began to nod around the room. Another murmur began. A man stood from the left side. He too, had white hair like Yammamoto, but he was considerably younger looking and his dark eyes were kind.

"We are in no fit state for war!" He choked, desperation in his voice. Yammamoto turned to look at him.

"Ukitake." Yammamoto aknowledged the younger man's outburst. "What makes you think as such?"

The younger vampire coughed into a fist several times before he could reply. "Simply put, neither side has been innocent. We have all broken the treaty a few times on occasion, especially new-borns that have little control. I would suggest that instead, we give warning of the breach and attempt to oversee that they gain a better control of their... wilder brethren, and minimize the bloodshed."

The room once again was full of murmuring. Then there came the scratchy, nasal voice from previous, once again."Numbers do not equate to ability! We are more than capable of taking on those lousy mutts!"

"Kurotsuchi, mind your manners." Yammamoto said softly. The blue-haired man walked forwards from the dark corner in which he sat.

"My apologies, Council-Leader Yammamoto." He eyed Juushiro with a spark of excitement in his eyes. "We have plenty enough soldiers ready for this cause. We have ignored the low-level scuffles between races thus far because it was of no threat, but blatant killing of humans is unacceptable!"Byakuya honed in on Kurotsuchi with his dark eyes narrowed.

"Since when did you, Kurotsuchi, care for the welfare of humans?" The blue-haired man grinned widely.

"Not all of us adhere to your cuddly, cruelty-free diet choices, Kuchiki. We cannot have the hounds threaten our food. Like a farmer having his livestock murdered by a fox... he must set a trap for the fox," His grin widened and he placed his hands close together. "And shoot it."

Kurotsuchi smacked his hands together and the sound revertebrated around the large room. A few whispers began to looked at the man with barely-veiled disgust on his face. "You seek bloodshed far too eagerly, Kurotsuchi."His grin became a sly smile.

"Isn't that what you came here for, Byakuya Kuchiki? Revenge for the little sister of that human slut that you murdered-"

"Silence, Kurotsuchi!" Byakuya's eyes remained cool, but behind the mask, a wave of fury hit him. He would have Kurotsuchi's filthy black blood pouring over the tiles one day. He would see to it.

"Just reminding Kuchiki what his wishes entail, Sir." Yammamoto turned to face the blue-haired man infront of him. His expression was stormy.

"I ordered you to be silent. Return to your seat." Defeated by authority, Kurotsuchi turned tail and did as he was commanded.

"As long as there's plenty of guts, I don't care!" The council leader fought a grimace. Elders of over eight centuries _did not roll their eyes_.

"Unless you have an input, please remain quiet Kenpachi." The elder replied, earning a loud roar of laughter from the man in question at the back.

"Sure thing Yama-Jii." The manic laughing died down to a rumbling cleared his throat and turned to address the remaining members of the council. "Would anyone else like to add a report, or will we commence with the vote?"

"It is all very well saying we wish to fight the Were, but what about the other races? What if they pick sides?" A low, relaxed voice rang through the room.

"Kyoraku. Explain your point."

"Well," The brown haired man ran a hand up his face to fiddle with his goatee lazily. "We know that some areas have become allied. For instance, in Kuchiki's territory, we know there are a number of others that affliate with the Were. Urahara Kisuke for example."A few gasps came from around the room.

"The Warlock? He is still alive? Kuchiki, why did you not make us aware of this?"

"He is." Byakuya confirmed. "I did not see fit to report it because he is no longer the feared magic-handler he once was. He found a mate among the Were and lives in hiding with her. His magic now consists of mere party tricks. He is not a threat."

"I've heard he takes in stray Were and trains them, Byakuya."

"It is not our business what the Were do until it violates the treaty. If he is teaching more young to control themselves, I fail to see the harm in less dangerous man-beasts on the prowl.  
"Yammamoto thumped the end of his cane on the stone flooring. "Enough. This debate is no longer. We will commence the vote. All those not in favor of war?"

Five hands were raised into the air.

"And those in favor?"

Seven hands.

"Then it is settled. Inform your second-in-commands to prepare your clansmen as soon as you depart. In three weeks, as the next full moon approaches, we go to war."He thumped his cane again, and the council meeting was ended.

**(LINE BREAK)**

Rukia chewed thoughtfully on her mouthful of sandwich.

"So all that supernatural stuff is real?" Yoruichi nodded, taking a mouthful of her coffee. "Well, twilight got a heck of a lot wrong, didn't they?"

The older Were cracked a smile. "They really did. I wish the transformation was that nice and tidy, and vampires liked to fall in love with teenagers... But back to business, Rukia. The next full moon will be the time that you first make the change. We don't know what you'll be yet, but in the time between now and then, you'll find out."

"How will I find out?"

"We and the rest of the pack will help train you to communicate with her. The beast inside you is a piece of your soul, born from the fear and pain you experienced during the attack under the full moon. It is a part of you, but at the same time, it is it's own person. You must learn to work with it. The first change you go through will seal the bond between you, which will allow you to change at any time like I did earlier. At the same time, if you fail to make the bond, it will try to overthrow you as the main commander of your body." She said it all so casually, thought Rukia. She took a long sip of her tea as she considered what she had been told before asking another question.

"You mean, like the crazy werewolves in movies?"

"Exactly like that. The struggle between the two of you will result in destruction. This isn't often known, which is why there is a problem amongst Were. Most packs always have people from each area scouting out for newborns after a full moon, like yourself, but sometimes they are missed..." She trailed off, looking sad.

"What do you do with the out of control ones?" Rukia asked, though she was sure she already knew the answer.

"In accordance to the Treaty Of Protection- A contract signed by the leaders of all supernatural groups, they must gain control or be executed, as they attract human attention to our existence. It is the same for newly bitten vampires." Yoruichi murmured. Rukia looked up at her with a grim understanding.

"So I have one month to gain control, or I die?"

"In short Rukia, yes."

**And there is the crux of it all... One month before all hell will break loose! Next chapter will include some IchiRuki interaction and meeting the rest of the pack, as well as the beginning of Rukia's training, while the vampire clans prepare for war.  
**

**Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here it is, the long awaited next chapter! I admit, I've had a lot going on (exams, yipee!) and I've ignored writing for a bit. However, I am now back and updates should be coming thick and fast. Enjoy!**

Two weeks passed in a blur for the young Were.

Between meditation sessions with Kisuke to try and contact her "Inner Beast" and physical training with Yoruichi, Rukia barely managed not to fall asleep in her dinner each night. In fact, a few times she had managed to do exactly that- before being gently carried off to bed by Tessai, one of the few non-Were in the compound.

There were only three non-Were that lived in the compound under the shop, aside from Kisuke. Tessai was another Magic handler, much like Kisuke- except he practised more in the herbal healing arts and practical household Magics. Rukia had barely seen the large man about, and aside from a warning from Kisuke to NEVER accept his potion for an upset stomach, she knew very little about him as he was rarely inside the building. The other two were human children named Ururuu and Jinta, whom had been semi adopted by Kisuke when he found them alone in a house after eradicating some Ghouls. It turned out the Ghouls in question were Jinta and Ururuu's very, very dead parents whom had risen to wander the Living World as Ghouls for an unknown reason. In any case, they were fairly nice kids, in Rukia's opinion. Tessai and the children usually tended to the shop, and weren't often seen aside from mealtimes, or in Tessai's case, someone was sick. The Were in residence were also very few, as Kisuke said that after they were stable they tended to move on and find a true pack. Only the three they currently had in residence were permanent.

The evening's meditation session had just ended, and instead of being ushered to Yoruichi straight away as was usual, Kisuke told her the evening's training was cancelled, and for her to go to dinner as he and Yoruichi had to attend to something. His tone was urgent and Rukia was intrigued- nothing every got Kisuke in a panic, not even the fact that she'd had absolutely no luck in finding the name of her Beast and couldn't fight for toffee. So for him to be this worried; well, it definitely warranted quietly following him.

She walked off in the direction of the kitchen as she was told, but this time, Rukia thought back on what Yoruichi had told her- to allow her senses, which were now far superior to a normal human's, to show her the way.

Pausing, Rukia took a deep breath and tried to relax, imagining stretching out her senses like limbs down the hallways.

She could smell the food Tessai was cooking in the kitchen. It was beef stroganoff, with his speciality mashed potato. Delicious!

"Focus Rukia. Now isn't the time for snacking." She mumbled, trying to ignore the amazing scent. Her senses crept along the hallway, where she could hear the harsh pounding of Tatsuki training on one of the punching bags in the gym, and the soft clicks of Mizuiro hastily texting one of his various girlfriends inside his room. She could smell the sweat on the She-Were's skin and Mizuiro's irritation in the air, and gently pushed forewards towards the other rooms, searching...

The new smell hit her like a train.

_Blood_, fresh and thick. The scent of copper was thick in the air, enough to taste it. Her skin crawled and something inside her chanted "hunt!" and she fought the urge to go charging in that direction. Instead, Rukia bent down and took off her trainers and socks, and proceeded to pad silently barefoot in the direction her nose took her.

"Kisuke," came a worried whisper- Yoruichi. "I'm not sure I can stabilize him. He's too far gone, I don't know what's happening." Her voice was despairing.

"I'll restrain him for now," The Wizard replied in a cool voice, though the speed of his response betrayed his fear. "Go and get Tessai. We'll need some of his brews. As soon as he's here, contact Orihime, Uryuu and Chad."

"On it." Rukia heard the door slam as Yoruichi sprinted with unnaturally soft and sure footing towards the kitchen. Deciding to bite the bullet and let her curiosity get the better of her, Rukia also broke into a run towards where she now knew they were. Kisuke's Lab.

The young woman slowed as she reached the door, but Yoruichi was long gone. Her violet eyes peered into the small gap between the door and it's frame. The smell of blood as strong enough to make her gag now, the air thick with it.

Inside the room was something fresh from a horror film. The great slab that Kisuke usually used to create runes and enchantments had been cleared, and ontop of it laid a mass of blood and fur, thrashing against great chains that held it to the table. The smell of burning fur was in the air as the creature thrashed and snarled between yelps of agony.

If it was burning from chains, that meant they were silver, Rukia thought idly. Then her stomach dropped to her feet as she realised what that meant.

The thing on the table was a Were.

A very, very angry one.

~~~~~~~~(LINE BREAK)~~~~~~~~~~

Byakuya was lost.

Not in the navigational sense- Vampires had an excellent sense of direction after all- but in the mental sense. For the first time in his three-hundred or so years of existence, he didn't know what to do. He sat back in the plush leather chair at his office desk, and stared at the photographs framed upon it. Rukia's smiling face looked back at him, along with her sister- his soulmate. They looked so alike, he mused. Was that, why he had reacted so poorly?

He was now responsible for instigating a war, after all.

In fact, to call it a war would almost be rude. This would be slaughter, pure and simple. The Were simply didn't have sufficent numbers in the area to even put up a fight. Aside from Kisuke's few Were, a couple of nomads and two other small packs in the area, Karakura didn't house many Were at all. Nothing compared to the hundreds of Vampires that would soon be bearing down upon them.

But some of the older Elders thirsted for blood, desperate to finally eradicate what they considered to be a 'dirty' breed of non-human creatures. Were were the lepers of the magical world, often faced with prejudice and contempt by other races, vampires perhaps the most.

And now, because of his anger at his sister's death, they would be iradicated.

Looking back to the picture, he gently touched the cool glass that housed the the beautiul blue-eyed woman, and her tiny copy beside her, grinning widely. That night, the Were had taken away the last thing he had left. Whether that was intentional or not was not the matter, and did not change the fact that Rukia was dead.

So to take away all that they had seemed somehow_... fair._

~~~~~~~~(LINE BREAK)~~~~~~~~~~~

"Rukia. Come and help me please, don't just stand there." Rukia let out a squeak. How had Urahara even known she was there? Obediently, she rushed into the room.

"Careful now, don't touch the chains. You haven't made your first change, so they won't burn you like they are him, but it will still hurt. Get that bottle labelled 'Basilisk extract'." The young Were searched through the great shelf that the Wizard had pointed to. A greyish, green liquid was in a bottle, and even as she handled the glass, her fingers felt slightly numb.

"Now pour it here," Kisuke pointed to the beast's great snapping maw as it thrashed on the table. She uncorked the bottle with shaky hands.

"How much, Kisuke?"

"Just until he stops fighting. Maybe half the bottle will put him out, he's strong."

She began to tip the sludgy substance into it's huge mouth. The beast's great eyes opened, and they were a shocking bright yellow. It began to fight against it's bonds in even more earnest.

"Kisuke?!"

Urahara met her gaze calmly. "He can smell what it is. Keep going."

Rukia watched her pale hand tremble as she sloshed the liquid around the monster's huge fangs. Slowly, as more of the bottle emptied, it's snarls began to weaken and fall into pathetic groans, and the thrashing and fighting became mere twitches.

"That's enough. Well done Rukia; make sure the stopper is in well and put it back where you found it." Kisuke slowly released his hands from where he had been holding the huge Were's muzzle and lowered it's head onto the slab gently as Rukia replaced the bottle. The Wizard wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked towards a book on a stand that Rukia hadn't noticed in her panic. It was thick, with a heavy leather case and binding. Looking up from the pages, he smiled.

"Thank you for your assistance, young Rukia. I'm not sure I would have been able to administer the essence alone."

"You're welcome Kisuke... but why are you hurting him? Isn't he a Were too?" Kisuke's smile dropped. He rubbed his forehead, looking troubled. Meeting Rukia's worried violet gaze, the man sighed.

"Rukia, you may remember what Yoruichi said about Were who didn't connect with their Beast, yes?"

She remembered alright. She hadn't sleep for days after that news.

"Yes." The young woman replied warily, eyeing the now completely still mass of blood and fur on the table.

"This is an example of what happens." Rukia felt the air gush from her lungs. "Yes, frightening, isn't it? The Basilisk Essence you just administered has him paralysed for the moment. As it is only an essence, it will wear off in some while, but it gives us enough time to get him in a secured cell," His calm green eyes met Rukia's once again, and he looked genuinely sad.

"Will you... Will you destroy him?"

"He is young, newly Changed. Judging by his behaviour, he has only experienced one full moon, which means there is yet time."

The young Were paused in confusion. "I thought Yoruichi said that the first one was the one you had to have bonded by?"

"In accordance to the Treaty, it is, yes. In practical terms, it can be done at any time- the earlier the better, of course, as the wolf is still juvenile in it's control. The more firm it gets in it's control, the harder it is to get the human side to retaliate." Rukia nodded in understanding.

"But aren't you violating the treaty?"She asked softly. Kisuke ran a hair through his blonde hair, looking unhappy.

"Yes, but-"

Kisuke was interrupted by a white-faced Yoruichi bursting through the door. It banged hard against one of the many cabinets of ingredients, sending a few tiny vials crashing to the ground where they shattered. The Were-Panther however barely spared it a glance.

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about the Treaty right now," She snarled. Walking forewards, she forced what appeared to be a roll of parchment into Kisuke's hands. The seal on it was the colour of fresh blood.

"What?" Kisuke opened the parchment and began to read. Rukia watched as he too, began to turn a ghastly shade of white.

"What is it? What's going on?" Tatsuki demanded from the doorway, a confused and worried Keigo and Mizuiro behind her. Chizuru peered in between the two.

"They believe we've violated the treaty by killing a human and not erasing the evidence." The Wizard said softly. His voice betrayed nothing.

"Impossible. Nobody has been unsupervised, they barely leave here! And the other packs-" Yoruichi began angrily, but she paused and met Urahara's gaze with her own blazing yellow eyes. Understanding seemed to hit her. "Oh no," She whispered, her purple ponytail swishing hard and she shook her head.

"Yes." The pair both looked at Rukia.

"Were you alone the night you were bitten, Rukia?"

"N-no. But Renji would never have gone to the police, and even if he had, they would have just thought it was a bear or something!"

"He didn't go to the police, Rukia. He must have told one of the Elders of the Council."

Rukia almost felt like laughing. Renji, know a vampire? Was this a stupid joke or something? "Renji wouldn't know a vampire! He barely believes in ghosts!"

Yoruichi broke the silence that had fallen. "He might not believe in them, but he definitely knows a vampire, Rukia."She said gently. The young Were was just confused now.

"Your brother, Byakuya Kuchiki is an Elder. One of the oldest Vampires in existence, and commander of the second most powerful Coven in known existence."

Rukia shook her head wildly. "Don't be ridiculous! I've never seen him drink blood! And he goes out in daylight!"

The older Were all shook their heads. Tatsuki spoke up gruffly. "The older they are, the less they need to drink. It becomes less of a necessity to survive, and more like a fine wine. A delicacy. He probably only feeds once every few months."

"Yeah," Keigo piped up. "The sunlight thing is a myth too. They are irritated by sunlight, and weakened significantly, but they don't burst into flame like the movies. They're just like normal humans instead."

She shook her head again. It was impossible. Wasn't it?

Though it would explain how he always seemed to either be at work, or holed up somewhere in his office at home. And how he never put on lights when he was home alone and seemed fine with it... But then...

"But what of Renji? Doesn't the treaty say that humans who know about other creatures have to be killed?" Rukia suddenly gasped. She thought that by making him run from the beast she had saved him. If he had died because he had to tell Byakuya that his little sister was dead... well, she'd never forgive herself...

"No, Rukia," Kisuke said gently. Yoruichi learned foreward and took Rukia's pale hand in her own soft, coffee coloured one. "It says they must be destroyed, or changed. Renji is probably not dead..."

"Then he's a vampire." Rukia stated. The words were like lead on her tongue.

Vampires were coming to eradicate the Were, and Renji, and her brother, would be among them. Would Renji even recognise her? Or would he slaughter her as part of principle, because he was ordered to? The thought sent chills down her spine.

"Can you all shut the fuck up? I feel like shit, here and the room stinks of sweat and anxiety."

Everone span to face the figure on the slab.

Instead of fur, there was now tanned skin- lots of it too- covered in blood, held to the stone. The chains had loosened as his form became smaller, but the burned welts were clear over his very, very nude body. Rukia felt her cheeks turn scarlet.

Why was she embarassed? She'd seen a man naked before! And yet she wanted to cover her face and run in shame at peering at this man's body.

"Hey, you, midget. Quit staring, would you? I feel like a piece of meat here." That voice too! Rukia looked at the floor, her face now the same colour as the blood covering the table.

"I wasn't staring you, jerkwad!" She growled at the floor. "Shut up or I'll give you the rest of that bottle of Basilisk Extract!" How had he managed to ignite such furious passion in her belly?! He'd done nothing but be naked and an asshole to her!

_A gloriously sexy asshole,_ something inside her chided. Somehow, it didn't feel like that thought belonged to her- she really hoped it didn't.

Wonderful, now she was crazy. Her brother was coming to kill her, along with her vampire ex-best friend, and it seemed to have sent her straight off the cliff of sanity into the depths of madness below.

And to top it off, some stupid carrot-head had dared to chide her for looking at him!?

The small woman straightened her back and looked up to meet an amused and pained honey-brown gaze. He raised one bloody orange eyebrow at her.

"Piss off." She snarled.

Rukia then turned on her heel and strode from the room, her head held high, leaving a crowd of confused people behind her. With the exception of Tatsuki, cackling in a corner and Keigo who was murmuring something about 'feisty sex-goddesses'.

Right now, Rukia was all for Kisuke and Yoruichi having to kill that stupid git chained to the table. _It would save her the bother of doing it later. _

**_Wowie, this was a long one (Just under 3k!)! I guess I just had a lot to get out... I know there wasn't a huge amount of detail in this one, but it was needed to get the real plot going, so it was sort of filler-y. Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!_**


	6. Chapter 6

Everything was an utter mess.

In under a fortnight, a hoarde of vampires would be bearing down upon them.

If that wasn't enough of a disaster, she hadn't even managed to communicate with her Beast yet, let alone reach a truce with it, they had a new, half-wit moron who couldn't control his inner Beast either.

Even if by some miracle she and The Idiot- she refused to say his name- were in a state fit for fighting by the full moon, they were severely outnumbered.

"We're screwed." She grumbled to herself, swinging her legs to kick at the kitchen counter angrily.

Someone cleared their throat behind her. "Maybe not quite yet, young one."

Rukia twisted around on her stool towards the voice. In the kitchen doorway stood two men who couldn't have been more different. One was huge- there was no other way to describe him, and tan, with a great mop of shaggy brown hair covering his head and one brown eye. To say he was muscular would be an understatement. He made Tessai look puny!

Next to him was a smaller, but not short, man. He was slender and very pale; a stark comparison to his companion. Hishair was the colour of the midnight sky itself with one side tucked behind a very long, pointed ear and his eyes were a stormy grey behind his spectacles. Clearly he was the one who had spoken.

"Oh! Excuse me, I was just muttering to myself." The taller one nodded.

"Forgive my interruption. We were told to come to the kitchen by Urahara. My name is Uryu Ishida, and this is Chad Yasutora." He gave a low bow, and gestured to the giant by his side, who nodded. Rukia noticed he had a large bow, with a sheath of intricate looking arrows on his back.

Rukia attempted a smile. "I think Kisuke might have mentioned you earlier."

Uryu nodded, "Yes, he and Yoruichi called for us and Orihime, our friend. She is with them at this very moment, but the casualty seemed to be in control enough that we weren't required to pacify him."

Rukia smiled and walked over to the kettle. "Would you like some tea while they finish up?"

"That is most kind. If you have green, I would be most appreciative. My kind cannot stomach the usual kind very well."

She cocked her head quizically and he continued.

"Ah, I am Elven, incase you didn't notice," He gestured to the point of his ear. "I am the son of Ryuken, leader of the Ishida Clan. We are what you might refer to as 'wood elves'. Chad is a human, but he posseses the ability to channel magic, similar to Urahara and Tessai."

"Oh!" Rukia blushed crimson as she poured the three cups of tea. "I didn't know-..."

Uryu cracked a rare smile. "I take it you've not been much educated on other races. Then again, you've had such little time for such trivial matters..." He trailed off.

The young woman passed around the cups of tea. Chad nodded in thanks. The cup seemed to be dwarfed in his huge hands as he sipped from it.

Uryu spoke up again. "Orihime should be finished with that Were soon. She is a superb healer, one of the very best to grace this Earth. She is of a rarer race, known as-"

"Fey!" An excited female voice interrupted. Rukia swiveled around again to be stunned into silence.

The woman standing there was beautiful. Long, auburn hair flowed gracefully down her shoulders, and her skin was a perfect, unblemished peach. She had huge, light grey eyes framed with thick lashes, and the body of a goddess. She was small, but not so much so as Rukia. A pair of delicate gossammer wings fluttered behind her, the same pale blue colour as the flowers that adorned her hair on either side.

"We're what people called Faeries! Oh but where are my manners, you must be Rukia! Kisuke and Yoruichi have told me so much about you!" Rukia didn't know what to say. She nodded mutely.

The woman laughed and it was like the sound of windchimes. Rukia noticed how Uryu looked at her; like a blind man seeing for the first time. And who could blame him? She was truly lovely.

"Well, the casualty is all fixed up! Kisuke managed to get him into the containment cell behind his office just fine." Orihime smiled at Rukia brightly and she was almost dazzled. "He's not in a very good state though, and Kisuke is worried he might have a Hollow." Rukia sipped her tea.

"A Hollow? What's that?"

Uryu adjusted his glasses. "A Hollow is a parasite of the soul. They cannot survive very well outside of a host, becoming somewhat like Ghouls. However, when they infect a host, they share the soul and can slowly eat away at it, until they take over." He shook his head. "The poor boy is probably better off dead."

Orihime seemed to dim at the thought. "I'm sure Kisuke can think of something to get rid of it Uryu..." She paused, turning to look at Rukia. "Thinking of Kisuke, he said he wanted to see you. He's in his Lab."

Rukia obediently put down her half-drunk cup of tea on the counter and left the kitchen with it's three strange inhabitants behind. When she reached the lab she strode straight inside. Kisuke was reading another book infront of the marble slab, where there was a small pot bubbling under a magical fire.

"You wanted to see me?" She asked softly.

Kisuke looked up from the huge book. "Ah yes, Rukia! You must have met Orihime, Chad and Uryu then! Fine folk they are indeed, and good friends of ours." He shut the book gently and placed it down.

"That's not what I wanted to talk about though. I've no doubt Orihime told you about Ichigo's Hollow."

"Yes... It sounds terrible."

"It is. I believe it's what caused him to lose control. Hollows don't usually afflict magical creatures, they tend to go for the weaker prey- humans. I am fairly sure that Ichigo was infected with his Hollow before he became a Were."

He paused to stir the bubbling pot's contents and add a few pinches of powder from a glass dish. The liquid inside stopped bubbling and became a serene blue colour.

"Can you do anything to get rid of it?" Rukia wasn't the carrot-tops greatest fan, but having something eat your soul had to suck big-time. Even that jerkwad didn't deserve that.

"The hollow can only leave of it's own accord. If we manage to get Ichigo to bond with his Beast, I believe they can take over and force the Hollow out. Of course, they could just dominate it if it chooses to stay. Some Hollows will reach an agreement with their host, due to them being able to survive so poorly outside of a human body."

"I see. And how do we get them to overcome the Hollow?

"Simple, my dear," Kisuke replied as he poured the blue liquid into a bottle.

"We kill him."

~~~~~~~~~~(LINE BREAK)~~~~~~~~~~

Byakuya paced up and down in his office. THe council had demanded that Renji be Turned, and now he had a newborn to babysit. Burning red eyes looked up at him in wonder. Since he had been Turned a week before, Renji had taken to the Vampiric life easily. This was the first time however, that he had been allowed out of Byakuya's spare room into the public.

"I'm so thirsty..." He whispered. His pupils were dialated with confusion, his hands curled into fists.

"You will be sated soon." Byakuya responded calmly. "Do not be afraid. It will become less confusing when you get used to your heightened senses."

"I can see so much." Renji murmured to himself, looking around the room. "I can hear the breathing of people on the street outside... How do you cope with such noise all the time?"

"Time will make it easier. You will learn to hear only what you need to."

Renji seemed pacified. He shut his eyes and leaned back in the chair.

"We will hunt this evening. Remember what I have been teaching you. We do not kill as it arouses suspicion and it is unnessecary. Take only a little from the human- there are plenty. Remember to glamour them afterwards, so they remember nothing. We, in my Coven, are civillised Vampires. We exist quietly."

The new vampire nodded. "Yes Sir."

"Once you have been fed, we will return to my mansion. There, your combat training will begin for the upcoming fight. My sister _will_ be avenged."

Renji clenched his jaw together.

"Yes Sir."

~~~~~~~(LINE BREAK)~~~~~~~

Ichigo groaned as he awoke again. His head was sore, though his body wasn't on fire as it had been earlier. Looking around, he surved his surroundings- he was in a dark room, with concrete walls and a concrete floor. One wall consisted of huge metal bars, easily as thick as his arm. Doing a quick self-assement, he noticed the silver burn welts had vanished along with every other cut and scrape he had recieved, no matter how deep. He had to admit, that level of healing was somewhat impressive.

Stretching, he got to his feet and began to walk around his cage. It was fairly large, with enough room to comfortably move about. He could see a door on one side consisting of the same steel bars that made up the front of his prison.

_**"So, how're we gon' break outta this shit hole?" **_

"Shut it, you. We're not going to do shit. We're gunna sit tight, and hopefully that weirdo in the wooden sandals will get you the fuck outta my head." Ichigo answered flatly out loud to the awful, slippery snide voice that invaded his head.

_"Advisable." _Came the deep whisper of the second voice that plagued him. This voice, however, had no malice to it- it never had, unlike the other one.

_**"Pathetic! You are a pathetic piece of shit, King! And soon, so soon, I will rise and I will take your place on top! And then I'll show all these other useless assholes what it's like to be trapped in a cage!"**_

The other voice seemed to sigh. Even if he was fifteen shades of crazy with all these voices in his head, Ichigo had to agree- He wasn't impressed with the third inhabitant of his head either. The first one, however, wasn't so terrible. Infact, he felt almost... Kind. Ichigo groaned, rubbing his forehead and looked up.

Behind the front bars stood Kisuke and the midget from earlier- Rukia, was it? She looked pissy. He was beginning to wonder if that was just her default expression- a resting bitch face.

"Uh, yo?" He muttered. "Enjoying the peep-show, bucket hat?"

Kisuke chuckled lightly. "But of course. We've run some tests while Orihime was healing you. It appears you have a Hollow- a soul parasite."

"So that's what the bastard is. Figures. How'd I get it?"

Kisuke shrugged, adjusting his hat. "Could have been while your mother was pregnant she was attacked by one and it passed onto you. It could also be if you were nearby when someone who was infected died- they cannot survive long outside of a human body, and will latch onto the nearest living thing."

Rukia noticed Ichigo's face darken and close over.

The wizard also appeared to have noticed, as he changed the subject. "In any case, you have one. It will continue to torment you and take gradual control of your body unless you can dominate it, and soon. After that, we will work on your control of your inner Beast."

Ichigo nodded mutely.

"How will I dominate it?"

"I will put you in a state between life and death. As your body fights to survive, you must overcome the Hollow's desire to overcome you. If you cannot, it will take control. If neither of you can take control, you will die." Kisuke stated matter-of-factly. Ichigo nodded again.

"Had a feeling it would be something like that. Why's she here, anyway?"

Rukia bristled. "I'm here to see that you don't die, stupid. Apparently the presence of another human will help frighten the Hollow." 'And I will be there to accept the Hollow if you die' Rukia thought.

After some discussion, Rukia had volunteered to be there to absorb the Hollow if Ichigo failed in his task. It seemed fitting, given that she would most likely be executed in the next week and a half anyhow. It meant that it couldn't infect anyone else, and give those remaining a better chance to fight.

**_"How sweet,"_** The Hollow crooned mockingly, _**"Ichigo has a little girlfriend to keep him company while I crush his useless mind."**_

"Zip it, you goddamn freak."

**_"Oh-ho! Fighting talk, is it? You won't be saying that when I make you watch as I tear her pretty little body apart!"_**

Ichigo felt his stomach lurch at the thought. Why, he had no idea.

"You bastard!" He snarled inside his head. "I'll defeat you. You dare touch her- or anyone here!"

He could feel the third presence's agreement. As insane as it sounded, Ichigo honestly felt that it meant him no harm. If anything, it seemed just as eager to get rid of the Hollow as he was... But for what cause? Was it just eager to see the end of competition for Ichigo's sanity?

"Hat-n-Clogs... Aside from the Hollow, what else is it inside my head? You said something about a Beast?" Ichigo asked quietly.

"Ah yes. You, Ichigo, are a Were incase you didn't know." Ichigo nodded; he had been aware. "The third presence in your head is most likely your Beast- the emodiment of the part of your soul that transforms your body."

"Ah, that would explain it."

"Once your Hollow is defeated, we can work on you building a bond. However, it appears you are already somewhat aquainted if it will willingly appears to you."

Rukia felt a twinge of jealousy. It wasn't fair; she hadn't heard a peep from her Beast, and yet this idiot with a goddamn soul-parasite had managed to?

As if sensing her thoughts, Kisuke turned to Rukia. "It makes sense; a common enemy in the form of the Hollow would make it more willing to work with him to defeat it. It will indeed, help you, Ichigo. I cannot say it will make bonding any easier though."

_"He is correct. You must yet earn my respect, Ichigo. I have only revealed myself out of need for the situation- I will still take control if you cannot prove yourself to be a worthy master. And I, in turn, will clearly have to earn your trust. But first we must be rid of the... cretin."_

Ichigo was almost amused by the distate in the deep, rumbling tone of what he now knew was his Beast.

"Don't worry about it, Old Man. We'll get him." He mutted to himself.

"So," Kisuke produced a fan from his pocket and began wafting it infront of his face. "Do you consent? It is your only other option."

Ichigo's mouth pressed into a hard line. He looked at the girl besides Kisuke, who had remained fairly quiet throughout the whole exchange. She seemed pained. And then she was on the floor, her clothes ripped to shreds with her lilly white skin stained bright crimson and her wide violet eyes gazing glassily into his own wide, terrified ones and-

"Yes." He barked, blinking rapidly. He looked up again. There she stood, pristine and perfect, though even more concerned than before. He could feel her pain in the air and almost felt sorry for teasing her the previous time they had met. There was something about her... Something in the way his Beast even seemed to hum inside his head. It was the strangest feeling, like warmth flooding from his head to the tips of his fingers and toes, despite the coldness of the concrete floor he stood on.

"By the way, I'm Ichigo." He stated, looking at her. She cracked the tinest of smiles. It appeated she understood his sentiment.

"Rukia." She replied, and her black hair swished with the motion of her slight bow.

He would defeat this.. thing. And for some reason as of yet unknown to him, he would do it; for her.

~~~~~~(END OF CHAPTER)~~~~~~~

**Soooo, I have a feeling this is going to be more towards 15+ chapters than 10! I'm sort of excited, really. What do you think is going to happen when Ichigo begins his fight? Will Rukia EVER find out about her Beast? What animals do you think they will be?**

**Let me know! Thanks for your support!**


End file.
